Application of Carbohydrases in Extracting Protein from Rice Bran

Enzymatic pretreatments of rice bran, using commercial carbohydrases to improve nitrogen extractability, were investigated. The pretreatment used a response surface method which included the variations in concentration of Viscozyme L (0–120 FBG unit) and Celluclast 1.5L (0–360 NC unit), time of incubation (1–5 h) and pH (3·8–5·4). The experiments were conducted at two different temperatures, 40 and 50°C. At 40°C, the maximum nitrogen extraction predicted by the model was obtained when the Viscozyme–Celluclast mixture at pH 3·8 with incubation time of 5 h was applied, giving an extracted N of 51%. At the process temperature of 50°C, the model predicted that the use of Viscozyme alone, under similar conditions, would have a most significant effect in increasing the efficacy of the nitrogen extraction, producing a 57% extracted N. This enzymatic pretreatment method improved the nitrogen extractability of rice bran at the neutral pH. © 1997 SCI.